The three-day fire that had ravaged Mumbai’s Deonar garbage dumping ground since Saturday was finally brought under control late on Monday night. It took at least 12 fire engines to douse the flames, but the ordeal for those living around Deonar is far from over.
Highly toxic smoke continues to rise from the mounds of burnt garbage in the landfill, residents living in the surrounding suburbs continue to experience low visibility and breathing difficulties, and municipal authorities are now trying to investigate possible sabotage as the cause of the fire.
This weekend’s blaze was the third time that fires broke out within Mumbai’s largest dumping ground since January and each time, the toxic fumes had a direct impact on the city’s pollution levels and air quality index.Angry residents of the city's north-eastern suburbs around Deonar held a protest at Azad Maidan on Tuesday morning, demanding an immediate solution to the frequent fires that have been choking them, forcing them to shut down schools and causing a range of respiratory health problems.
Meanwhile on Twitter, photos uploaded by residents reveal the scale of the disaster that continues to unfold around the dumping ground even though the flames have been extinguished for now.